Mackintosh

“ But though mixing in the action of a great and stirring community, a lawyer, an author, a member of parliament, Mackintosh never arrived at the eminence in law, in letters, or in politics, that satisfied the expectations of those who, living in his society, were impressed by his intellect and astonished at his acquirements.
If I were to sum up in a few words the characteristics of the persons who thus promise more than they ever perform, I should say that their powers of comprehension are greater than their powers either of creation or exposition ”

“ Mackintosh began to see the real man, and under the boisterous good-humour he discerned a vulgar cunning which was hateful; he was vain and domineering, and it was strange that he had notwithstanding a shyness which made him dislike people who were not quite of his kidney. He judged others, naïvely, by their language, and if it was free from the oaths and the obscenity which made up the greater part of his own conversation, he looked upon them with suspicion. In the evening the two men played piquet. ”

“ Mackintosh observed this sentiment with an icy disdain. Walker had always been a heavy drinker, he was proud of his capacity to see men half his age under the table when he spent a night in Apia, and he had the sentimentality of the toper. He could cry over the stories he read in his magazines and yet would refuse a loan to some trader in difficulties whom he had known for twenty years. ”

“ Mackintosh, Charles H., Journalist, Ottawa, was born in London, Ontario, in 1843. He is a son of the late Captain William Mackintosh, county engineer of Middlesex, Ontario, who came to Canada as an attaché of the ordnance branch of the British army. Mr. Mackintosh has led an unusually active life, and has succeeded in making his way, unaided, from an humble position to one of honor and influence. He was educated at the Galt Grammar school and Caradoc Academy, two well-known institutions at that time. When almost yet a schoolboy he had strong impulses toward a literary life. ”

“ His enthusiasm for nature was but the drivelling sensibility of the drunkard. Nor had Mackintosh any sympathy for his chief's feelings towards the natives. He loved them because they were in his power, as a selfish man loves his dog, and his mentality was on a level with theirs. Their humour was obscene and he was never at a loss for the lewd remark. ”

“ Mackintosh bent over him. His eyes were closed and the words he said were like a wind sighing through the fronds of the coconut trees.
"Give me another drink. I've got something to say."
This time Mackintosh gave him his whisky neat. Walker collected his strength in a final effort of will.
"Don't make a fuss about this. In 'ninety-five when there were troubles white men were killed, and the fleet came and shelled the villages. A lot of people were killed who'd had nothing to do with it. They're damned fools at Apia. If they make a fuss they'll only punish the wrong people. ”

“ Stephen's, he was sure to be the center of attraction at Holland House. Hall put down upstartism like a judge at nisi prius rebuking a shallow barrister for contempt of court. Mackintosh pricked the gas-bag with the delicate instrument of his irony. Hall was loved by his friends. Mackintosh was admired by his associates. Each was a philanthropist and reformer, and each in his sphere was in advance of his times in catholicity of spirit, boldness of speculation, and freedom from the cant of party and sect. ”

“ Mackintosh, the appearance of those gentlemen's wives would be almost enough to acquit you at once."
"Mr. Grimaldi," said Mackintosh, with a slight tremor in his voice which, despite his serious situation, arose from an incipient tendency to laughter, "Mr. Grimaldi, none of those women are married."
Grimaldi stared incredulously.
"Not one," said Mackintosh: "they only pass for married people—they are not really so." ”

“ After spending four years at Edinburgh in the study of medicine, Mackintosh repaired to London with a view to the practice of his profession. His heart seems, however, not to have been very fully enlisted in the work, and he was soon driven to the public press as a means of support. His first great work, published in 1791, commanded immediate attention, not178 only for its elegant and expressive as well as keen and trenchant style, but also for the enthusiastic daring with which a young man of twenty-six grappled with the most powerful and accomplished writer of the day. ”

“ The chief of Mackintosh and his kinsman 'Borlum,' as he was called, although his father, the laird, was still alive, joined Mar on 6 Oct. 1715 at Perth. The Mackintoshes, seven hundred strong, were formed into a regiment of thirteen companies. Patten (ib. ed. 1717) gives the names of the thirty-two officers, twenty-seven of whom were from the Clan Chattan (Mackintosh) . Mackintosh the younger of Borlum was made a brigadier-general, and was despatched with six regiments to assist the Jacobites on the border and in the north of England. ”

“ One of Macaulay's experiences at Holland House was a vision of Mackintosh verifying a quotation from Aquinas. [567] It must have been delightful. The ethical 'dissertation,' however, had to be shortened by omitting all reference to German philosophy, and the account of the schoolmen is cursory. It is easy to see why the suave and amiable Mackintosh appeared to Mill to be a 'dandy' philosopher, an unctuous spinner of platitudes to impose upon the frequenters of Holland House, and hopelessly confused in the attempt to make compromises between contradictory theories. ”

“ None can approach Mackintosh without admiring his extraordinary powers, and at the same time wondering why they have not produced greater effects in the world, either of literature or politics. His virtues are obstacles to his success; he has not the art of pushing or of making himself feared ”

“ On the breaking out of the rebellion, she was equally energetic in favour of the Pretender, and, in the absence of Mackintosh, she raised two battalions of the clan for the prince, and placed them under the command of Colonel Macgillivray of Dunmaglass. In 1715 the Mackintoshes mustered 1,500 men under Old Borlum, but in 1745 scarcely one half of that number joined the forces of the Pretender. ”

“ In the midst of the attractions of London society and of his parliamentary avocations Mackintosh felt that the real work of his life was being neglected. His great ambition was to write a history of England. His studies both in English and foreign speculation led him to cherish the design also of making some worthy contribution to philosophy. ”

“ The Macqueens fought, under the standard of Mackintosh, captain of the clan Chattan, at the battle of Harlaw in 1411. On 4th April 1609, Donald Macqueen of Corrybrough signed the bond of manrent, with the chiefs of the other tribes composing the clan Chattan, whereby they bound themselves to support Angus Mackintosh of that ilk as their captain and leader. At this period, we are told, the tribe of Macqueen comprehended twelve distinct families, all landowners in the counties of Inverness and Nairn. ”

“ The impulsive injustice and pride of youth! Yes, but it’s what millions are thinking at the Front. Whether you like to acknowledge it or no, the supreme value of Mackintosh as a poet lies in the fact that he was articulate, where others are silent and, above all, that he spoke the Truth.
He had a strange, almost womanly tenderness for his men—not for Kipling’s red-coats, but for the civilians in khaki who fight because of duty, with hatred in their hearts of shedding blood. His attitude towards them was a good deal that of a chieftain. War brought out in him his pride of race ”

“ On rare occasions a couple of planters or traders would drive over to play bridge, and then Walker showed himself in what Mackintosh considered a characteristic light. He played regardless of his partner, calling up in his desire to play the hand, and argued interminably, beating down opposition by the loudness of his voice. He constantly revoked, and when he did so said with an ingratiating whine: "Oh, you wouldn't count it against an old man who can hardly see." ”

“ Of these, indeed, Mackintosh used to cite the short essay on "National Prejudices" in Italy as absolutely perfect, both in thought and style.
The epoch of his advent as a poet was favourable to his fame; a small taper is conspicuous in a dark room. ”

“ Mackintosh did her best to keep her husband to the methodical work made irksome by his easy temper and love of society. He advertised, and partially wrote, a book upon insanity, suggested by the illness of George III, and made some slight moves towards settling as a doctor in the provinces. He was, however, drawn towards politics. ”

“ Mackintosh, Grimaldi, and some other professional persons preferring to walk, for the benefit of the exercise.
Upon the way, Grimaldi sounded Mackintosh relative to the professions, connexions, and prospects of his friends; but he evaded making any reply, further than by observing, with an air of great respect, that they were very wealthy people. He dined in Throgmorton-street a few days afterwards, and again tried to penetrate the mystery, as did his wife, who accompanied him. Mr. Mackintosh threw no light upon it, but it was destined to be shortly revealed, as the next chapter will show. ”

“ MACKINTOSH, WILLIAM (1662–1743) , of Borlum, Inverness-shire, brigadier in the Pretender's service, eldest of the five sons of William Mackintosh, laird of Borlum, and his wife Mary, daughter of Duncan Baillie, was born in 1662. The Mackintoshes of Borlum were descended from Lachlan Mor, sixteenth chief of Mackintosh, who married Agnes Mackenzie of Kintail. They appear at one time to have been wealthy, as in the valuation-roll of the sheriffdom of Inverness-shire in 1644 the lands of Borlum, in Dores parish, are set down at 666l. ”

“ The first pulpit orator of his day, in the zenith of his fame he could attract a greater crowd of rare men than any other preacher in the metropolis or the country. The same cannot be affirmed of Mackintosh in the theater where he displayed his forensic powers. The speech which so transported Bulwer in the House of Commons, [115] because of defects in the delivery transported half the members out of it. Each shone no less in the social circle than in the forum. While Mackintosh was the more ornate and classical talker, Hall surpassed him in keen sarcasm and solid argument. ”

“ Mackintosh said that Sharp was the best critic he had ever known, and discussed metaphysics with him for hours in the chambers of Rogers in the Temple. In the winter of 1791–2 Sharp co-operated with the leading members of the whig party in forming a society for obtaining a reform of parliament, which was known as ‘Friends of the People.’ He was a man of many clubs and societies, both literary and political. ”

“ His mouth was so dry that he had to get himself something to drink. The Chinese cook silently put a chair for him. He sat down by the side of the bed and waited. He did not know how long a time passed. The night was endless. Suddenly one of the men sitting there broke into uncontrollable sobbing, loudly, like a child, and Mackintosh grew aware that the room was crowded by this time with natives. They sat all over the floor on their haunches, men and women, staring at the bed.
"What are all these people doing here?" said Mackintosh. "They've got no right. ”

“ Already a privy councillor, Mackintosh was appointed commissioner for the affairs of India under the Whig administration of 1830. He died on the 30th of May 1832.
Mackintosh was undoubtedly one of the most cultured and catholic-minded men of his time. His studies and sympathies embraced almost every human interest, except pure science. ”

“ It secured him the acquaintance of Fox and Sheridan, and the friendship of Burke, who in his latter days invited the young pamphleteer, who had so strongly, yet respectfully, antagonized his views, to pass a Christmas with him at his home of Beaconsfield. Of course, such a success broke up the doctoring business, and launched Mackintosh upon a new career. He devoted himself to politics ”

“ One approving smile from his Lord is more than ample recompense for all the reproach that men can heap upon him. He knows how to estimate at their proper worth the thoughts of men; they are to him as the chaff which the wind driveth away. The deep utterance of his heart, as he moves steadily along the sacred path of obedience, is,—
"Let me my feebleness recline On that eternal love of Thine, And human thoughts forget; Childlike attend what Thou wilt say, Go forth and serve Thee while 'tis day, Nor leave Thy sweet retreat." ”

“ Ages roll over mankind; mighty nations pass away like a shadow; virtue alone remains the same, immutable and unchangeable.”
The object of Mackintosh was to show that the instinct of man was towards society; that society could not be kept together except on certain principles ”

“ Mackintosh adopts a hypothesis which lands him in self-contradictions and a perfect “sea of troubles”—a — 218 — kind of chaos, in fact. In attempting to explain the drifts of western England and east Wales he has ignored the conditions that must have obtained in contiguous regions—thus forgetting that “nothing in the world is single,” and that one ought not to infer physical conditions for one limited area without stopping to inquire whether these are in consonance with what is known of adjacent districts, or in harmony with the existing phenomena of nature. ”